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Seminal Plasma and Serum Afamin Levels Are Associated with Infertility in Men with Oligoasthenoteratozoospermia

Reproductive Sciences volume 28, pages 1498–1506 (2021)Cite this article

A Correction to this article was published on 22 February 2021

This article has been updated

Abstract

The plasma glycoprotein afamin has been previously identified as an alternative carrier protein for vitamin E in extravascular fluids such as plasma and cerebrospinal, ovarian follicular, and seminal fluids. However, to date, no study has established a relationship between afamin levels and infertility in women or men. The purposes of our study were (i) to assess the level of afamin in serum and seminal fluids in infertile men compared to healthy controls and (ii) to study the association between polymorphisms in afamin genes and male infertility. This observational, prospective study evaluated the afamin levels in serum and seminal fluids from infertile men (n = 39) and compared them to those in healthy controls (n = 30). We studied the association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 5`-untranslated region (5`-UTR) of the afamin gene and infertility and analyzed a total of 1000 base pairs from the untranslated region of the afamin gene. Subjects with low sperm motility and low sperm concentration had higher median seminal afamin (18.9 ± 2.9 ng/mg of proteins) and serum afamin concentrations (24.1 ± 4.0 ng/mg of proteins) than subjects with normal sperm parameters (10.6 ± 1.4 ng/mg of proteins) (p < 0.02) (15.6 ± 1.4 ng/mg of proteins) (p < 0.002). A total of five different polymorphisms were found, including one deletion and four single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A new transversion (A/T) (position 4:73481093) was identified in an oligoasthenoteratozoospermic patient and was associated with high levels of afamin in plasma and seminal fluids. The prevalence of this variant in our study in the case homozygous for TT is 0.985 (98.5%), and in the case heterozygous for TA is 0.015 (1.5%). Our results suggest that genetic variations in afamin might be associated with male infertility. These findings could significantly enhance our understanding of the molecular genetic causes of infertility.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Tambre Foundation.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. International Assisted Reproduction Unit, Madrid, IERA Foundation, Madrid, Avenida General Perón 20, 28020, Madrid, Spain

    Rocio Nuñez-Calonge & Pedro Caballero Peregrín

  2. Tambre Clinic Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Susana Cortes

  3. University “Alfonso X el Sabio”, Madrid, Spain

    Luis Miguel Gutierrez Gonzalez

  4. Galicia Sur Health Research Institute, Vigo, Spain

    Roman Kireev

Authors
  1. Rocio Nuñez-Calonge
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  2. Susana Cortes
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  3. Pedro Caballero Peregrín
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  4. Luis Miguel Gutierrez Gonzalez
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  5. Roman Kireev
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Contributions

RNC contributed to the conception and design of the study, data analysis, interpretation of the data, and drafting of the manuscript. SC was responsible for the collection of sperm samples and aided in drafting the manuscript. PCP was responsible for data analysis and interpretation. LMGG and RK were responsible for the afamin measurements, DNA extraction, and genotyping. RK was responsible for revision and final approval of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rocio Nuñez-Calonge.

Ethics declarations

The study was allowed by ethical committee: Hospital de la Princesa, Madrid, approval n° PI-827.

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The authors declare they have no competing interests.

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This article was updated to correct errors in Table 1 and References 7 and 27.

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Nuñez-Calonge, R., Cortes, S., Caballero Peregrín, P. et al. Seminal Plasma and Serum Afamin Levels Are Associated with Infertility in Men with Oligoasthenoteratozoospermia. Reprod. Sci. 28, 1498–1506 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-020-00436-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-020-00436-8

Keywords

  • Afamin
  • Male infertility
  • Oligoasthenoteratozoospermia
  • Seminal plasma
  • Polymorphisms genes